12 months, 12 goals

This next goal is one that has been brewing in my head and heart for a while now.

Goal 4 - contribute to a cause.

Forgive me for this, but I'm going to take a moment to share why this is important to me this year. During the year I spent in the Middle East I met a lot of Iraqis who were good people. I tried to make an effort to be the kind of American who left a good impression, rather than a negative one (I was in the position to do so) and so was lucky enough to get to know a few of these folks on a slightly more personal level. I shocked me to see first-hand the devastation of the country and the life of a people. Especially the women and children.

I feel that in many countries where large amounts of the population are suffering, it is the women and children who bear the brunt of the pain. I won't go into my personal thought on religion and patriarchy, but I feel an intense need to help others who are less fortunate than I and to focus my attentions especially on women and little girls. The other day my father sent me this story and it finally solidified the necessity of doing something to help.

So, this year I plan to find a way to help these sisters of mine. I plant to start with contributing handmade blankets to Afghans for Afghans. I'm just going to do small ones, as they have to be made of wool and let's face it... wool ain't cheap! But, my goal is to knit or crochet one each month for the year. Twelve total.

I'm starting with this pattern by Alicia Paulson, the Tiramisu Blanket. (photo from tamsi on Ravelry)


I've added a tab on the sidebar to Afghans for Afghans if anyone reading this would like to read about them. I will also start a flickr slideshow thingie to keep me honest on this. As I go through this year I have another organization planned to contribute to financially, but will speak more on that later; once I am able to actually start getting involved.